Wednesday, August 25, 2010

4 months old

Right now, I am watching you sleep. It's something you do well and it still surprises your Dad and me since we thought we could only produce babies who didn't sleep well. Aside from a few off nights last week, you'll typically only eat once between 7:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. – unless you can't be bothered. You nap between 8 and 9 in the morning for approximately 2 hours, then after two hours awake you go down for a two to four hour nap. Those four hour naps are most common when someone is sharing your sleep. Then you have a brief half hour to an hour nap in the early evening and fall asleep for the night around 9 p.m., about an hour after your sister falls asleep. And that's your schedule. It's nice to get into a routine.

We got you weighed yesterday. I was a little surprised considering you were just over 15 lbs. a month ago. Now you are a manly 17 lbs., 7.5 oz. and just above the 85th percentile, according to the WHO boys weight-for-age chart. Nice, except it's hard to keep you in clothes. Anything we have that's the right size is kinda warm and wintery...as we expected to have you in 6-12 months clothes when you were, well, 6-12 months old. Oh well. One evening when Dad came home from work, you were wrapped in a fitted crib sheet. It was the only thing clean that could cover you.

One day old, two months old and last Sunday. That's progress.

Your sister really loves you. Like alot. She's so proud of you. She always says, "Remember when Finn was so tiny? You're such a big boy now. Good boy! Good boy!" She lists off all of your accomplishments since birth on her fingers. And the other night when we had you sitting up for almost ten seconds, she was giddy with pride. She ran to tell Dad as soon as you flopped over. "He did it!" And while she still can't stop kissing you or holding your hand or foot, she doesn't bug you quite so much. You're getting much more fun and more interactive. Laying on the bed beside each other a couple days ago, you were face to face, mouths open wide. She would yell into your mouth and a few seconds after she stopped, you would yell into hers. This went on back and forth for a few minutes before you got agitated. She thought it was hysterical. So did I. She also needs to hug you when she's sad. She says it makes her feel okay again.

You've also begun to laugh. Not much and with some prodding, but you do it. It's so fun to tickle you.

At the same time, you've also been...crying. You've cried about five times in the last week and we don't know why, just that you were getting across that you mean business. And you are a lot more vocal when unhappy these days. It's particularly adorable when you whine when you're trying to go to sleep. Those high-pitched squeals are more funny than demanding.

We've been going for lots of walks, too. You love it outside and immediately calm down if fussy. You stare at the trees and admire the flowers. You're not as big of a fan of watering the plants, but it's a necessary evil. I dread the days where it will be too cold to venture out on a daily basis.

Since almost mastering your hands, you like to rub your fuzzy head, grab our plates at mealtimes, rub our cold smoothie glasses each morning and stick your hands into our mouths when we get close enough.

Your fist/fingers are forever in your mouth. While you could sprout teeth any time now, I'd rather you wait. Keep those gummy smiles a little while longer.